London's Best New Restaurants To Visit This Autumn

White truffle, braised beef and tart yet sweet rhubarb. Autumn has arrived and brought with it a whole host of beautiful seasonal flavours. London’s menus are changing along with the seasons, and the city is now full of warming, rustic flavours to chow down on. Read on for our favourite restaurants to sample the best the season has to offer.

Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings

There’s a new chef in residence at Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings, one who comes with a Michelin-starred past. Executive Chef Adam Gray has taken the reins at the kitchen, launching a brand new menu this October and heralding a new focus on food for the esteemed cocktail group. Trained under Bruno Loubet at the Four Seasons Hotel, before moving onto City Rhodes and London’s Skylon, his classical experience is obvious in his simple, pared down dishes. Running under the belief that food should be able to stand up when simply done, without needing fancy techniques to fall back on, the new menu is a lesson in beautifully done, autumnal fare. Rabbit and hazelnut terrine and English heritage potato and smoked bacon salad to start. Melt-in-your-mouth braised ox cheek and saddleback pork chop make up part of the main show, while clotted cream-topped treacle tart and lemon pudding laden with sloe gin-soaked blackberries finish things off. All, of course, paired with the excellent cocktails that Bourne & Hollingsworth are famed for.

San Carlo Cicchetti

If there’s one autumn luxury you indulge in this season, make it the ‘Alba’ white truffle, and most importantly, make sure you enjoy it at Cicchetti Covent Garden branch. By far the best Italian restaurant in London, if not the UK, it serves up its namesake – Venetian small dishes or ‘cicchetti’ – and this season has invested thousands bringing over the ingredient. Quintessentially Italian interiors are warm, welcoming and inviting, and it’s a toss up as to whether it’s the gloriously friendly reception or the incredible food that’s the strongest part of the restaurant. The white truffle fettuccine comes close to tipping the scales, a stand out dish rich with butter that allows the beauty of the truffle to truly shine with its pure simplicity. The risotto pairs pumpkin parmesan with the truffle, and is both filling yet stops just short of being too rich. Glistening tartare comes served on crunchy bruschetta, topped with a sliver of the expensive stuff. It’s the stuff of white truffle dreams. Coupled with some of the loveliest waiters around, it’s impossible to leave not declaring Cicchetti the cream of the Italian crop.

POPdown at The Vaults

This season, London’s spectacular Vaults space will be filled with an unmissable culinary experience: Cuisson’s POPdown. This hugely successful interactive supper club will be taking up residence in the cultural hub for the next three months. Borough Barista, their former home, quickly became one of the most popular supper clubs in the city, and this new venture looks set to have the same effect. Inside The Vaults’ spacious, urban rooms you’ll find a bar, and a second floor upstairs that’s home to the main event. Diners fill a series of long tables, and the culinary exploits unfold before their eyes as chefs put together the meals in the same room – encouraging guests to come help them plate up. Autumnal flavours are the main focus on Chef Chavdar Todorov’s menu, but housed in weirdly wonderful formats. Delicately-textured cured mackerel is served with cubes of cucumber jelly and horseradish ‘snow’, while slow-cooked brisket is soaked with ‘tea’ gravy, and cabbage is topped with bacon and served alongside a red pepper and lemon foam. It’s unusual, fun and completely delicious. Book now before it’s overrun.

The Hour Glass

For hearty pub fare that’s a step above your average grub, head to South Kensington pub, The Hour Glass, pronto. Recently opened in September, it’s a neighbourhood pub with a difference. Downstairs you’ll find a typical boozer, complete with quality ales on tap and locals filling the space. Wade through the after-work pint drinkers and head upstairs, and you’ll find one of the most charming pub restaurants this side of the river. The seasonal menu is an absolutely cracking one, with classic pub staples amped up to proper foodie heights. The triple cooked beef dripping chips are far and away some of the best we’ve ever sampled, and must accompany your meal – no ifs or buts about it. Fresh crab is loaded on crisp toast and wood pigeon is served with a rich, sweet and tart combination of pickled quince, black pudding and toasted hazelnuts. The feathered game pie is a stand-out dish and will make you feel like Tudor royalty. It comes with mash but don’t let that stop you from ordering the chips – you still need the chips. Do not forget to order the chips.

Pasta Sereni

Autumn is the season of carbs, glorious carbs, and newly-launched Pasta Sereni has some of the best out there. Better yet, they’ll bring you their wonderful italian pasta at lightening quick speed, you there’s no need to be waiting around for them either. Opened this October, they’re reinventing the concept of ‘fast’ food, with handmade, restaurant-quality pasta done without the wait time. The signature Fusilli Sereni pairs tuna marinated in extra virgin olive oil with green olives, anchovies and tomatoes from Campania, while traditional Rigatoni al Ragu and Trottole with pesto and cherry tomatoes will have pasta fans drooling. Run by a trio of Italian culinary masterminds; there’s no doubt you’re getting the real deal here. Perfect for a rainy day pick-me-up!

Emma is a journalist with an obsession for all things culture-related. She is online editor of blow LTD, a Buzzfeed contributor, and fashion features editor of Parisian magazine, L’Insolent. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.